This has been a Masonic year that in many ways is similar to every other. We cut down the trees threatening our Lodge. Someone crashed into the Lodge and we are working our way through repairs. We are working with a Neighbor to replace the fence between our properties. We held a moving Memorial Service in the Lodge for Jack Chudley. The City of Lafayette is again considering traffic management developments that would require removal of the Lodge (we have a good team on this). We had a visitation to Mendocino Lodge 179 and a great BBQ on the Tunzi Ranch. Crab Feed and Luau. And we are again trying to get 5 year plans for the Lodge and for the Hall off the ground. These are all things typical of what happens in the annual cycle of keeping a lodge in being.

We have had five entered apprentice degrees, two FC degrees and two MM degrees. We have been approached by over 20 men interested in Masonry, three of whom have joined us and 10 of whom we are working with. We have established a policy that the first line signer of a prospect will be the person’s coach. Experience at other lodges indicates that this encourages careful thought when bringing in a new member and develops members more likely to contribute because of the commitment made right at the start. We are building better Builders, taking good men and making them better.

As the year approaches its end we look forward to a tour of the Nike base on the Marin headlands conducted by Brother Kreutzinger on November 11th, who will also tell us about how the SF Bay has been defended from the earliest days of written history. Finally, Installation of Officers is just over a month away (December 9th, 5:30 sharp) and we have a Sweethearts Luncheon on December 16th at 11:30am. We look forward to seeing you in Lodge.

I never cease to wonder at how multi-dimensional is our ancient, gentle craft. On Tuesday September 19 we had the distinct privilege of passing Scott Zimmerman to Fellow Craft Mason. Scott belongs to Antioch Lodge which, as you all know, has had significant problems with its Lodge Building. There were brothers from four lodges present and three lodges participated in the ceremony. Your degree team acquitted itself well in this always moving ceremony.

When we consider the science and engineering reflected in the degree and consider that the ritual is over 300 years old it reflects what a cutting edge organization the craft has been through its development. And even now, the geometry we celebrate is foundational to many modern capabilities including: Finite Element Analysis; Computational Fluid Dynamics; Cosmology; and so much more.

We trace our Masonic roots back way before the first formal Grand Lodge 300 years ago. And as we review the Regius Document of 1390 we see reference to Masonry coming to England with the Phoenicians who last traded with England three centuries BC, buying tin to support the Bronze Age.

And so we move to the future as we prepare for yet another peaceful transfer of power at our annual installation – an example of political grace that the whole world can learn from. We are indeed blessed to be Masons.

October’s Stated Meeting Dinner and Happy Hour is focused on Oktoberfest and the Stated Meeting is Advanced Stations. November sees our election of Officers while in December our Junior Warden will talk to us after dinner about protecting ourselves on the internet. Finally on December 9th we will hold our installation and the new officers will celebrate with a Sweethearts lunch at Lodge on December 16th. The Lodge looks healthy, though as ever we struggle to fill the line without imposing on Past Masters, a tradition I hope we will maintain. And looking even further ahead, 2021 is our 100th Anniversary. You can be sure we will be in full party mode for that!

So the dog days of summer, the rising of the dog star Sirius with the Sun, were this year enhanced with a solar eclipse, a couple of pool parties and a visitation to the historic lodge of Mendocino where our Past Master’s team of ritualists exemplified the second degree.

The Mendocino Lodge was built by the first Master of the Lodge, who placed on its roof a carving he made from a huge redwood stump. The carving depicts a scene central to the Masonic Third Degree. After the visitation, we took the opportunity to have a pretty special barbeque at a pretty special place. The Tunzi Ranch has, since 1946, been in the hands of four generations of the Tunzi family (with Frank, the Fifth Generation, arriving just 6 weeks ago). Larry the current owner and third generation, helped his father build the Masonic location, complete with outdoor lodge for degrees (particularly Royal Arch) and complemented with a cookhouse, hot showers and all modern conveniences. The BBQ pit is huge and fueled by wild Madrone wood that burns down to magnificent ashes. Twenty five attended the BBQ, including six of the Tunzi family. Four of us camped overnight at the Ranch while others found accommodation in nearby Fort Bragg.

Coming up, on August 31, Orinda is hosting an open house where Tony Cimmarra, AGL of Division III, will perform the Lodge “walkabout” ritual. This meeting is open to all, Masons and Non-Masons, where you will learn the meaning behind many of the features and appurtenances of the Lodge. Dinner is at 6:30 (email me for reservations by COB Monday before). Ceremony is at 7:30

This Stated Meeting (September 5th) features our oft delayed official visit of our Worshipful Inspector who will present Brother Gerald Patchen with his 50 year pin and certificate. Come join us in the Reception of a Grand Lodge Officer and the Presentation of the Flag. The October Stated Meeting will be Advanced Stations

And lastly, on September 30th, Island City Lodge is hosting a day of Masonic Education led by Worshipful Kenneth Nagy of San Diego, followed by the celebrated Island City Festive Board. If you are interested, email me for details.

The July Stated Meeting Luau went off very well, the whole responsibility for which had landed on the shoulders of our Senior Deacon. It was great to see so many attend, all having a great time. The musicians, dancers and the fire dancer were judged to be a great success, but as we have noted on the past two occasions, holding the event at a Stated Meeting is just a bit trying for the officers and organizers. So don’t be surprised if the next one is held on a Saturday, maybe starting at 5 instead of 6, but with perhaps an hour more entertainment. That might also encourage a larger attendance (we had nearly 50 and it is clear that we can easily accommodate 100).

Coming up we have the next Stated Meeting on August 1 when we will put on a slide show of our favorite bits of the UK trip. On August 12 we will be presenting the Hiram Award to Otis Simonson. The event starts at 4:30 pm with dinner to follow. On August 19 we have our visitation to Mendocino Lodge where our Past Master’s team will Pass Bother Zhao to the degree of Fellow Craft. Come join us for a great weekend. There will be camping Friday through Sunday and BBQ Saturday late afternoon at Tunzi Ranch (Comptche).  Hotels in Fort Bragg are reasonably priced. My personal favorite is the Harbor Lite.

And finally, the thoughts I passed to the Master at Ethelfleda Lodge after exemplifying the California Second Degree:

“Though Freemasonry seems to be shrinking due to the pressure of our “go-go” society, we have an ever more urgent duty to illuminate Truth and Morality to the world. It is my considered opinion that we must be selective in who we make Masons and inculcate them with a sense of belonging to a very exclusive fraternity to which their attention must be directed. This exclusivity in fact generates a greater wish to belong and a greater wish to be seen to belong. However, we must also take care that Masonry does not become an obstacle between Mason and Family, but a reinforcement of those bonds of family so essential to stabilizing this ever more unstable world. It is my belief that it is this personal outreach into the world and our communities that we must encourage. And demonstrate our commitment to our ideals by walking uprightly in our several stations before God and man.”

As I sit writing this in a Hotel Room in London, this is truly “From the East”.  

Our group of 8 Masons and 3 Non-Masons had a very impressive trip, visiting Ireland Scotland and England. We were privileged to visit Killwinning Lodge 0 which has continuous records of Speculative Masonry going back to 1642 and intermittent records as early as 1580. Records before that may well turn up in the Moscow archives. Killwinning Lodge 0 has chartered lodges over the years and as such qualifies as a Grand Lodge which seems to undermine the claim of the Grand Lodge of England being the first Grand Lodge. PM Vick Vickers is currently assembling all of our photographs into a single archive while Brother John Minagro is developing a trip diary. Both the photo archive and the diary will be made available through links from the Lodge Website. In addition, we will present the highlights of the trip during the August Stated Meeting Dinner.

The picture accompanying this article was taken at Monolithos Lodge, the second lodge at which we exemplified the California Second Degree with our Grand Secretary taking the role of Junior Steward. I think we and Orinda Lodge can be very proud of both exemplifications. The Monolithos Lodge Brethren were intrigued by the Masters Hat which is not used in English Lodges. Perhaps we might be emulated?

It is a sign of the current strength of our Lodge that while five of us were in the UK the Lodge was also able to Initiate Bother Jason Harding. Welcome Brother Harding. I am sure you will absorb and make good use of the lessons of Masonry.

In my absence our Senior Deacon has led the work on our third annual Luau to be held on July 11 in conjunction with the July Stated Meeting which is moved from July 4 to July 11 at 5 pm. Finally, note we shall be visiting Mendocino Lodge on August 19 for the Past Masters Visitation when Brother Leon Zhao will be passed to Fellow Craft. We are planning a Barbeque at the Tunzi Ranch in Comptche, where camping will also be available.

Two Lodge Degree Teams had the privilege of Raising Brothers John Minagro and Jonathan Groetsch to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on Saturday May 20th and Tuesday May 23rd respectively. Both degrees were impressive, notable for the steady pacing, the excellent floor work and frankly the judicious use of drama appropriate to the subject. They were both nights to remember, kudos to the teams who knew their work and were proud to get it right. I would also like to give a shout out to David Kreutzinger for his lively talk at the last Stated Meeting about lodges in Italy, Croatia and on Cruise ships.

We now look forward to our trip to the UK where we will roll off the ‘plane into a vat of Guinness, sober up on a high speed ferry to Scotland, pay homage to the Mother Lodge and Rosslyn Chapel and drift down to England to demonstrate the Second Degree to Ethelfleda Lodge on the Solstice and the first degree at Monolithos Lodge the next night where we will be joined by our Grand Secretary and PM who will be our Junior Steward for the evening. The finale of the trip will be joining many Masons in Weston Park to celebrate the 300th anniversary on the night of the feast of St. John the Baptist. Fireworks included!

Planning is advancing for the Lodge retreat and visitation to Mendocino Lodge August 19, where Brother Leon Zhao will be passed to the degree of Fellow Craft. We will be having a BBQ at the Tunzi Ranch in Comptche under the Redwoods, courtesy of Larry Tunzi of Mendocino Lodge. Some of us may also camp at the Ranch.

And finally allow me to acknowledge the generosity of so many of you who raised over $2,000 for Raise a Reader; and who got together to buy the first rate sound system and other degree items that have greatly improved the experience in all our rituals. Thank you Brothers!

It has been a busy month and a busy year for the lodge and the pace looks like it will continue.  Having initiated four Entered Apprentices and raised one brother, we will be passing a brother to Fellow Craft on April 25th and are planning on raising two brothers to the sublime degree of Master Mason on May 20th and 23rd. As announced last month we have selected Otis Simonson as our Hiram Award awardee. In order to accommodate some of Otis’s Guests, the Hiram Award Celebration has been moved to August 12th from the May 13th date previously announced.

The continuous improvement we have seen in our lodge over recent years has many fathers, but a consistent pressure has come from Grand Lodge through the Masters and Wardens and Secretary and Treasurers’ retreats held early in the year. After several years of M&W retreats beating the somewhat introspective drum of “relevance”, this year saw a move to the more positive theme of “engagement”. In truth we, in Acalanes Fellowship, have recognized this as the true issue for a number of years and it is no coincidence that we are “the friendly lodge” for this is our engagement between brothers. Our focus on improving the quality of our brotherhood through excellent Stated Meeting Dinners, strong friendships outside of the lodge, a whole host of coffee mornings between different groups all underpin this progress.  

We have come away from the latest M&W retreat with a toolkit of methods to improve engagement which I hope we will have time to make a start on this year. Our Secretary and Treasurer came from their retreat with reinforced tools for efficient management, notably Intacct (now fully implemented both in the Lodge and Hall Association) for managing finances. In addition, Grand Lodge has implemented an improved management of investigations through IMember,  reducing the Secretary’s and Master’s burdens.

Grand Lodge is encouraging the formation of new lodges, (there were 12 opened  last year) explicitly noting that lodges in California are too large to properly engage all their members. It was pointed out that Anderson’s constitutions of 1723 state that “No Master shall take on an apprentice except he shall have work for him”. Masonry in California (population 36 million) was compared with Masonry in Metropolitan London (population 8 million). Both Grand Lodges have the same number of members (55,000). California has fewer than 400 lodges, whereas London has over 1500. Just a thought to ponder as we move into the next century of Masonry.

I am pleased to announce this year’s recipient of the Lodge Hiram Award is Worshipful Otis Simonson, Past Master of our Lodge.  We will be making the presentation starting at 4 pm Saturday May 13th.  

We initiated two new Brothers to the gentle craft on March 21st: Leon Zhao and Kyle Taylor, who will join Brothers Noah Maier and John Minagro as Entered Apprentices. We have started preparations to pass Bro. Minagro to the degree of Fellow Craft on April 25 and are planning third degrees for Brothers Minagro and Groesch on Saturday May 20th and Tuesday May 23rd respectively.

On March 28th the Grand Lodge of California will be performing a cornerstone ceremony at the Alamo Fire Department’s new building. We were asked to provide mementos for the time capsule and have provided our 2017 lodge pin, Lodge Tee Shirt, Lodge Brochure, March Trestle Board and a brochure of our trip to the UK.

At 2 pm on April 2nd, at the request of the family, we are holding a memorial service for our departed brother Jack Chudley. Please RSVP to me (email address at the back of every trestle board) if you plan to attend, or click here to register. It is advised you be there by 1:30 as parking might be limited. The officers will be opening lodge in the first degree at 1:00. Join us in this celebration of life and listen to our operatic star, John Minagro, sing the Nunc Dimittis accompanied by Wor. Bill Stanley on the organ. Light refreshments and libations (courtesy of Anna and Phil Henry, Jack’s daughter and son-in-law).

We are pleased to say that we now have a new wireless sound system which we were able to try for the first time at our last Stated Meeting. By all accounts this is a great improvement to the experience of being in lodge. We thank Wor. Marion Rogers, and all the brothers who donated, for making this possible.

Finally, you are not too late to join our trip to the UK, nor is it too early to start planning to attend our visitation to Mendocino Lodge for our Past Masters’ degree on August 19. Please contact me for further information about either of these special events.

We have made a very strong start to the year, with a double first degree straight out of the gate, and a third degree a month later. We have another candidate for initiation, and an application to be voted on in the March Stated Meeting while one or more applicants wait in the wings.  We have one more candidate almost ready for his third degree and another for a second degree.

While all this places a major strain on our officers, this is certainly a nice problem to have. How we arrived at this juncture is certainly a long story with many possible interpretations. Over the past seven years I have seen a persistent improvement in our lodge. I saw it in the improvements made in ritual by successive Masters and their Officers. I saw it in the improvements in administration created by successive Masters, Treasurers and Secretaries. I saw it in the improvements to the lodge furniture and fabric by successive Hall Associations. I have seen the contribution of individuals and small groups in the curtains on the Stage, the pillars in the dining room, the remodeling of storage spaces, and many more.

This has all been accompanied by a sense of purpose, confidence and love of the craft that creates an audible Buzz in the dining hall before stated meetings, and increasing numbers of sideliners in our Stated Meetings and Degrees.  And before my time the prolonged and agonizing recovery from an epic flood that could have killed the lodge. The enthusiastic development is ongoing and will result in a new sound system to combat our poor acoustics; and the retirement and replacement of a carpet essential to our second degree.

Time, Patience and Perseverance have kept our lodge going and developing through its ups and downs, just as Freemasonry has through three centuries.  And all this allows us to better focus on the essential messages of Freemasonry. Freemasons have focused on Freedom as the essential basis for human development. We hone those freedoms through brotherly love, relief and truth while we bound our passions and desires by the judicious balance of rights and duties. Oh indeed it is a rich tapestry we have inherited, and we are all doing our part in its maintenance and development.

We now pitch in to a New Year full of significance for our gentle craft. Three hundred years of good men developing themselves to better repair the world that will be enjoyed by their children and grandchildren. And so it is a time to reflect on what we are: as people; as Freemasons; and members of our Lodge. The New Year resolutions we all made and most likely will break pall into insignificance against the obligations we take as Masons: obligations that bind us to improve ourselves; obligations to our brothers, our families, to society and to God; obligations that force us to dig deep into ourselves and ask whether we are doing the best we can. By these obligations we form a society in which we can all feel “at home” whether we are the high or the low, the rich or the poor, remembering that Masonry unites us all no matter our country, sect, or opinion and causes true friendship to exist among those who might otherwise have remained at a perpetual distance. Our Lodge fully reflects these ideals.

We are making a good start to the year with two initiations and a raising, an application under investigation and two more prospects who have asked for applications. Our brother to be raised will fill the last still open line position of Junior Steward. So I expect your new line of officers is going to be very busy this year learning the rituals for all three degrees to maintain our tradition of excellent degree work and using the line to develop the skills of our members. I already see three more strong candidates for the line and revel in the luxury afforded by no less than three officer’s coaches, other past masters leading in the life of the lodge, and a solid cadre of brothers willing to “make things happen”.

This year we are taking steps to memorialize the three hundredth anniversary of the founding of the first Grand Lodge, the Grand Lodge of England. A group of us will travel over to the UK to visit two or three Grand Lodges, the Kilwinnig Mother Lodge, Rosslyn Chapel, exemplify a second degree in Ethelfleda Lodge in Tamworth (and perhaps two other lodges) and join in the 300th anniversary celebrations in Weston Park over the weekend of 24/25 June. We should have a pretty memorable presentation of pictures and mementos at our August Stated Meeting.

Other notable events recent or planned include: our Crab Feed on January 28th; the Spring Dinner Theater on March 11 (see flyer in this trestle board); our annual Luau at our July Stated meeting which will be moved from July 4th to July 11th; our Past Masters’ degree at Mendocino Lodge August 19th (which I do hope might be a third degree) ; a Maryland crab feed in September; our annual Oktoberfest at the October Stated Meeting; and lastly the 2018 officers installation on December 9th. We are also intending a closer collaboration with Orinda lodge this year, to be side liners at each other’s degrees, and enhance that bond of brotherhood that has been growing between our lodges over many years.
And so I challenge all of you who can, to attend the many degrees we shall celebrate this year, and renew with the candidates those obligations you once took kneeling at the altar, to recognize again the seriousness of those promises made perhaps so long ago. Promises that you kept and which have made our lodge such a strong bastion of all that is best in Freemasonry. So come along and help us celebrate the degrees of initiation, passing and raising this year, and help our degree teams do the best of which they are capable.